Church records

In addition to maintaining the vital registers, priests were required to collect a variety of other records relating to the religious life of their congregants. Parish census books and documents pertaining to the observance of sacraments were an administrative necessity. In older times, parish offices were the only authority that could give exact information about the population within their parish districts.

Archival files from the parish offices, although usually housed in public archives, are still property of the church and it's sometimes necessary to ask for permision to view these sources. It is very important to discuss this long before your visit to the archive.